Jun 16, 2015; Berea, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns running back Isaiah Crowell (34), Cleveland Browns tight end Jim Dray (81), Cleveland Browns running back Terrance West (28) and Cleveland Browns tight end Rob Housler (84) during minicamp at the Cleveland Browns practice facility. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
The Cleveland Browns have the 23rd best rushing attack in the NFL, according to a ranking at NFL.com, but the position group has the “potential to crack the Top 10.”
Around the NFL writer Marc Sessler put together the rankings of all 32 teams with input from NFL coaches and draft experts. He also took into consideration how strong the offensive line is on each team (a check in favor of the Browns) and how the quarterbacks on each team impacts the running game (uh-oh!).
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According to Sessler, while the current group of Isaiah Crowell, Terrance West, Duke Johnson, Glenn Winston, Shaun Draughn puts the Browns ahead of just a handful of teams, there is reason to expect more. Sessler writes that:
"A Browns team source told me he would rank Cleveland’s running back room “around 12 to 15 with the potential to crack the top 10.” I don’t have them that high, but this group is trending up. Isaiah Crowell gives Cleveland a young back who ran with urgency last season. Terrance West showed flashes, too, but is already facing competition from a pair of rookies. Our source praised tailback Duke Johnson and fullback Malcom Johnson, saying that both are “going to play a lot of football for us,” adding that “both young men are very versatile, have good hands and can play both traditional roles in the backfield” and even some wide receiver. Browns running backs coach Wilbert Montgomery told reporters: “The best way I can describe Duke is what Thurman Thomas was for Buffalo,” saying that the former Hurricanes star would line up all over the field in what he called a “Where’s Waldo?” scenario for defenses. Behind one of the NFL’s grittiest lines, “I’d be shocked,” said our source, “if we aren’t in the top five in the NFL in rushing attempts.”"
It is interesting to note that Sessler has the Browns ranked two spots ahead of the Dallas Cowboys, who had the second-best rushing attack in the NFL in 2014 and are considered by many to have the best offensive line in the NFL.
Having said that, Sessler may be underestimating the Browns’ backfield a bit. Alex Mack‘s return from injury will help elevate the ground game back to the level it showed early last season, guard Joel Bitonio should be even better in his second year, and the addition of first-round draft pick Cameron Erving will help solidify the right side of the offensive line, currently the weak spot of the group.
In addition, while West and Crowell should also be better in their second year, the wild cards are going to be the two Johnsons – Duke and Malcolm – who will add a dimension to the backfield that the Browns were missing last season.
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“(Duke) gives you another dimension,” Montgomery told ESPN. “He creates one-on-one problems. We hope he can be a little bit like the kid [Giovani] Bernard in Cincinnati. If he can do that for us, that gives us a different perspective on how we approach the field and gives us a chance to move people around and taking advantage of a mismatch.”
As for Malcolm Johnson, he is the only player listed at fullback on the roster and the former Mississippi State tight end sounds like an ideal fit for how the Browns want to utilize the position this year.
“This year we’re looking for more of an H-back type guy, a cross between a fullback and tight end who can move out of the backfield and still get lined up as a tight end as well as get lined up in the backfield,” Montgomery said. “Not be that thumper, but cover up a guy.”
Sounds like the type of plan that could see the running attack “crack the Top 10” and, in the process, take some of the pressure off quarterback Josh McCown.
Where would you rank the Browns’ running attack?